I am Thankful For.....

My family had a Thanksgiving tradition when our children were growing up. Every year a few weeks before Thanksgiving, we begin to keep a "thankful bag". I had a brown paper bag that my children decorated to look like a turkey, but you could use any container you want.

Starting early in November we would take a few minutes at the supper table and each family member would write down why they were thankful for a particular child in the family. Each night we would choose a different child until each child had been our "thankful child" two or three times.

We would put the paper slips into the bag and the Family Home Evening night before Thanksgiving Dad would pull the slips out of the bag, one by one, and read them aloud. It was always fun to read what the children had written, and even funner to listen to when the comment was about YOU. Even the smallest children participated, having Mom or Dad write their answer for them. We found that if we focused on one child each night, each child would end up with an equal number of comments.